Falconpaw's Moonstone Journey

Soft, sticky flakes of freshly fallen snow dusted the wilted grass of WindClan's camp, covering everything in a freezing blanket of incredibly soft powder. Shaking off several flakes, Brindlewhisker reluctantly padded away from the shelter of Mottleheart and Featherlight's den, wincing as her paws quickly grew numb due to the icy chill of snow. Carefully gripping the bundle of herbs between her teeth, she picked her way through the snow towards the camp's entrance, her gaze occasionally scanning for the familiar pelt of Falconpaw.

Falconpaw walked over to her mother, ready to head to the Moonstone! She was shaking a bit because of the cold but mostly from uncontrollable excitement. "I'm here! It's pretty chilly ain't it? Do you think the snow will ever stop?" she asked while eyeing the bundle of herbs.

"Good morning Falconpaw!" Brindlewhisker purred, leaning forward to affectionately rub her cheek against her daughter's, "And I suppose that, with StarClan's favor, the snow will stop soon enough. The breeze smells more and more of rain with each passing day, which means a thaw is coming soon." Pulling away from her daughter, the Deputy hastily groomed several strands of fur back into their proper place before returning her attention to the task at paw. With a careful forepaw, she gently nudged the neatly wrapped bundle of herbs towards her daughter, taking care to avoid several slush-like puddles. "Mottleheart and Featherlight prepared traveling herbs for you. They taste quite foul, but you'll be thankful for them by the end of the day so make sure to eat all of them."

Falconpaw bent down and sniffed the herbs. Her nose wrinkled as they smelled bad. She began to eat them. She managed to swallow them all. Afterwards, she looked up at her mother and put up a wavering smile. Those herbs were bitter all right. "I-I'm ready to go now. I'm pretfy excited too." she said while licking her chest fluff. Her pretty blue eyes looked up at the sky. It was sure better than most days.

Feeling her mouth twist at the amusing sight of Falconpaw struggling to swallow down the bitter herbs, Brindlewhisker gave her daughter a sympathetic blink. Despite the fact that she had suffered through the consumption of traveling herbs countless times, she had yet to properly adjust to the bitter taste. Ear twitching at Falconpaw's words, she nodded shortly in response, striding several steps forwards. "If you're ready, then I suppose we shouldn't delay any longer! We have quite a journey ahead of us today." Brindlewhisker called, disappearing through the rattling branches of the gorse barrier as she spoke.

Falconpaw followed behind closely. She couldn't wait to see the territory where the Moonstone was. 

OOC: 2 short sorry ;-; I'm at school.

ooc) don't worry about it ;)


-time skip-

The weak sunlight had burned away most of the freshly fallen snow from the previous night, leaving behind only the largely expanses of snow that had frozen to the point that they were nearly solid. Although having to travel through the large swathes of frozen snow slowed Brindlewhisker and Falconpaw down slightly, it didn't hinder their journey too much. The heavy sun had been fully swallowed by the imposing outline of the Highstones, leaving behind only the faint starlight and rapidly strengthening moonlight. Rising to her paws and giving Falconpaw a gentle nudge, Brindlewhisker gazed down at her daughter with bright eyes, "Are you ready to meet your Warrior ancestors, Falconpaw?"

Falconpaw nodded eagerly while getting to her paws. "I sure am mom! I'm excited to see who'll speak with me!" Her eyes brightened even further as she looked up at Brindlewhisker with a grin. She certainly could not contain this excitement!

Running her tail down Falconpaw's flank, Brindlewhisker let out a short little purr at the expression upon her daughter's face. "I'm certain that they've selected an excellent Warrior for you to speak with." She mewed, her face still retaining the soft and fond expression that she commonly wore when faced with her kits. Padding forward and towards the gaping wound in the earth that marked the traditional entrance to the Moonstone's cavern, she felt several small stones break free underpaw and tumble into the darkness before her. "The tunnels we're about to travel through can be quite frightening at times, but just remember to stay close behind me and you'll be perfectly fine." Brindlewhisker gently warned, throwing Falconpaw a brief glance, before eventually stepping into the suffocating darkness that laid before the pair of WindClanners.

Falconpaw nodded swiftly before closley following her mother into the dark tunnel that led to the Moonstone. She sure hoped the warrior chosen was cool! She made sure to stay as close behind as she could since her eyes couldn't see anything.

Damp, frigid walls pressed down around the pair, steadily leeching them of whatever warmth they still held onto as they continued deeper and deeper into the darkness. Relying heavily on both memory and the use of her other senses, Brindlewhisker confidently strode across the oddly familiar paths underpaw. Rounding an especially wide turn, a steady stream of silver light slowly became more visible- bathing the narrow tunnels around them in a mull light. Just a few steps later, the tunnels around them steadily widened into a massive cavern filled with jagged stone teeth.

Nestled in the center of the cavern was a large stone that appeared as smooth as undisturbed water. The moonlight that poured in from above glimmered brightly upon the stone, tossing dazzling reflections of silvery light all around the cave. Turning back towards Falconpaw, Brindlewhisker gave her daughter a careful nudge towards the imposing form of the Moonstone before speaking once more, "This is the Moonstone- it has served as our connection to StarClan since the dawn of time. To communicate with our fallen Clanmates, simply lay down next to the Moonstone and press your nose against it. I hope you enjoy your time spent with our ancestors, Falconpaw."

"Alright. Thanks mother." she said as she stepped closer to the stone. The apprentice made herself comfortable and then pressed her nose to the Moonstone. Falconpaw fell asleep and eventually awoke in Starclan.
----------------------------
The blue-eyed she-cat opened her eyes to find herself in Starclan. "Woah! This place looks awesome." she said to herself. The apprentice then sat down eagerly to wait for a cat to come speak with her.

Lush heather colored with exotic hues of green and gold unfolded around Falconpaw, creating the illusion of a rippling sea of grass that went on infinitely. Tantalizing prey scents wove in and out of the heavy clumps of grass, a stark contrast to the bitter and bleak territory of WindClan. While Falconpaw was distracted with gazing around at the strange realm of StarClan, faint specks of light drew together in a strange shimmering outline of a cat. For several heartbeats, the faint outline only shimmered and wavered, only giving off the appearance of a strange, barely visible cat.

With a bright flash of light, Cloudrunner suddenly appeared before the young she-cat, his white fur dazzling with the soft light of the stars that composed his ethereal form. "Hello Falconpaw," Cloudrunner hummed, tilting his head as he gazed down at the apprentice with his mismatched eyes, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Falconpaw looked at Cloudrunner and smiled. "It's nice to meet you too errrr... What's your name?" she asked with a tilt of her head. As she waited for his response, the she-cat continued to look at her surroundings.

"The fact that you don't know my name is hardly surprising." Cloudrunner murmured, his nonchalant voice now carrying something akin to faint amusement, "My name is Cloudrunner and I lived my life countless moons prior to your birth. The majority of my kin has fallen victim to the ravages of time as well, but my closest living kin is your eldest half-brother Dawnlight. So I suppose in a strange way, we're family." Settling himself comfortably in the soft, luscious grasses that unfolded around the pair, the odd-eyed tom elegantly wrapped his tail around his paws as he continued to gaze at Falconpaw. Pausing for a heartbeat to simply enjoy the feeling of the warm, unearthly breeze wreathing around the pair of WindClanners, Cloudrunner titled his head once more.

"Confusing familial relations aside, I'm here to answer whatever questions lay in your heart. Past, present, or future- it does not matter. I've come to guide you along as best as I possibly can." Cloudrunner finally mewed once more, whiskers trembling softly as he addressed the young she-cat before him.